


live in my house, i'll be your shelter

by the_nerd_youre_looking_for



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Asexual Character, Canon Bisexual Character, Confessions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heart-to-Heart, Holding Hands, Hugs, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamory, Polyarchives rights baby, Romantic Fluff, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tim is a mom friend fight me, Trans Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Trans Martin Blackwood, Trans Sasha James, Trans Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), canon atypical communication, making tea as a love language, the inherent romance in cooking with someone, the inherent romance of bookshops, the inherent romance of grocery shopping with somebody, they are all trans!, they are also all bi technically, when a soulmate first touches you it leaves a color mark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26401621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_nerd_youre_looking_for/pseuds/the_nerd_youre_looking_for
Summary: There are many ways to have soulmates. It might be your best friend. It might be your girlfriend. It might be a sibling. More commonly, it's all of those and more. Soulmates are someone who brightens up your life, and it is signified physically with a colorful mark at their first touch.However, while having multiple soulmates is very common, having multiple romantic soulmates is less, although not frowned upon.Some people are a bit dense about this. And sometimes those people all work at the Magnus Institute
Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Sasha James, Martin Blackwood/Sasha James/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Tim Stoker, Sasha James/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 66
Kudos: 158





	1. look into his angeleyes/you'll think you're in paradise

**Author's Note:**

> YES the title is from I'll Cover You from Rent YES the chapter titles are all abba lyrics what about it 
> 
> Anyway this is just some straight up polyarchives fluff because I need more of it so I decided to contribute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's chapter brought to u by: research era jontim nation

It isn't that Jon is jealous of Tim, exactly. But whenever he looks at Tim, sees the streaks of color that paint his dark skin, a sharp _something_ twists in his gut and doesn't let go until he stops thinking about it. 

The thing is, Tim has so obviously been _loved_. And Jon was so obviously....well, not. 

Jon only had the one mark, and it was fairly easily hidden. A violet handprint from Georgie on his upper arm, and that was that. It had started out as a pastel purple when they were dating, as lighter colors indicate a romantic soulmate, but it darkened after they broke up and realized they worked much better platonically. He hadn't gotten any from his parents, since he didn't remember them enough for them to have had a significant impact on his life. It wasn't that Jon _minded_ his lack of marks (except for maybe the sad looks he'd get from nosy strangers in public) but when faced with someone like Tim, it was just unbearable. 

Tim had two parallel streaks on his right cheekbone, one a forest green and the other a deep red. There was a dandelion yellow handprint around his left wrist and a baby blue one around his right. A ring of navy blue encircled the little finger of one hand. And that wasn't to mention the colorful assortment of spots and streaks that covered nearly the whole of his body. Jon felt bad for the almost-resentment he felt whenever he saw Tim's marks. Tim was his friend and he shouldn't be upset or jealous that his friend is thoroughly loved. But that logic doesn't help it. 

It's not just the fact that Tim has a lot of soulmarks. Jon has known people so covered in them he could barely see their skin tone. The real problem was that _Jon_ wanted to be on his canvas of a body. He wanted to touch him and leave a reminder and get one in return. If he was feeling particularly bold with himself, he'd admit that he wanted it to be in a lighter shade (he'd taken his feelings for Tim and reasoned them into the ground), but mostly he just wanted to _know_. Tim could say that he was Jon's friend all he liked, but Jon craved that certainty, that undeniable truth that someone cared for him. He hadn't had that since Georgie.

Logically, Jon knew he was being ridiculous. A soulmark wasn't the end all be all of someone's love and he shouldn't be acting like a fool over one. He didn't even like touching that much. No matter how much he repeated this to himself in the bathroom mirror before work, it didn't stop at least part of him to long for running his hand down Tim's arm and seeing that streak of color appear. 

_____

"Good morning to my lovely coworkers!" Tim called out as he practically bounced into the research offices. "It's once again terrible to be up at this hour."

Sasha giggled at his antics and Jon fought down a fond smile. He settled instead for what he hoped to be vaguely neutral. "Good morning to our local menace." He deadpanned, sneaking a glance up to catch Tim's reaction. 

"Jonnycakes you wound me." Tim placed a hand over his heart with a dramatic flourish and sank into his chair. "Whatever will I do now that my dearest darlingest Jonny hates me. I'm dying of heartbreak right now."

"I'll be at the funeral." Sasha grinned and flicked a paper clip across the way at Tim. "I'll give a little speech about how massive of a drama queen you are."

"We can put it on the headstone." Jon's smile had broken through. There was something about the way Tim managed to be upbeat and full of life, even when he complained about how tired he was from waking up early. 

Tim let out a quiet "ow" as a paper clip hit him in the shoulder and threw a pen at Sasha. She moved out of the way and claimed it as her own when it clattered to the floor. "You're a horrible friend, Sasha." Tim slid down in his chair, flinging a hand across his forehead. "You all are so cruel to me. I cannot stand this."

Sasha giggled as Tim retaliated by throwing a pen across the way at her. It missed, landed in front of her desk, and Sasha stuck her tongue out at Tim as she claimed it as her own. After that, they all seemed to settle into a comfortable near-silence as they worked, asking the occasional quiet question. It was a usual workday, and Jon couldn't help but steal glances over at Tim from time to time. He's nearly certain Sasha is aware of all this, if the looks she keeps on giving him are any hint, but he can't help it really. There's an urge to reach over and grab Tim by the arm or hold his hand or _something_ that he's just barely keeping to himself. Jon wanted to be sure for once, wanted to feel the warmth of receiving a soulmark again, wanted....well, he just wanted. And that was his problem, wasn't it? He wanted so badly and was no good at taking the things he wanted. But Jon had lived like that a long time, and if he was going to love Tim invisibly, he would learn to live with it. 

(Because it was love, wasn't it? You couldn't feel things for Tim in halves, it just didn't happen. Something in his DNA demanded the wholeness of emotion, and you either hated or adored him. Jon was coming to the unfortunate realization that he was in the last category.)

_____

It was getting to the time when most reasonable people had left work and gone back to their homes or to go out and do something fun. Jon, who wasn't a reasonable person, was not doing that. He thought he'd found a connection between two statements and was determined to figure it out before he left. It wasn't his fault he had a terrible grasp on the concept of time, and he'd tell that to anyone who asked. No one ever did ask and usually just bugged him about going him, which Jon found very irritating. 

Tim was apparently on Annoy Jon Into Leaving At A Normal Hour duty, as he'd sat himself on Jon's desk and was taunting him with Jon's laptop held above his head. "Look, the statements aren't going to run away during the night." He explained, as if to a child. "I know this place is spooky, but I don't think our paper is alive."

"I just don't want to have to restart it in the morning." Jon glared up at Tim, explaining himself for what felt like the thousandth time. "I'll leave once I finish this up, now if I could have my computer back-" 

"No can do, Jonnycakes!" Tim smiled, which Jon just _had_ to find endearing. "I know how you get. Let's get a move on." 

"Oh, would you just give me that." Jon stands up quicker than Tim can react and reaches to yank his laptop from Tim's hand. It wasn't a permanent solution (Jon has learned that his friends are unfortunately not opposed to picking him up) but Tim just had to be so _frustrating_ about it. He planned to grab his laptop, give Tim a good lecture on why exactly he shouldn't be bothered when he's working, and then hope he can back into the statements enough to finish it before midnight. That was the ideal scenario. 

Except it didn't exactly happen that way. 

Tim had just enough time to hold the laptop up just a bit higher and Jon grabbed hold of his hand instead. He had half a mind to pull Tim's arm down and grab his computer anyway before any lingering irritation melted out of him as he registered a warm sparking all over the palm of his left hand. The hand he'd used to grab onto Tim. The one that was still currently grabbed onto Tim. 

Jon felt like the wind had been punched out of him. Almost immediately he pulled his hand away from Tim's to look over the mark. It was a lovely shade of blush pink that covered almost the entirety of his palm. He flexed his fingers and the residual tingling was the only thing keeping him from believing he was dreaming. There was a stinging behind his eyes, and he almost didn't care that he might cry as he brushed his free hand over his newest mark. It was really there. 

"Aw, Jonny, you've got a crush on me. How embarrassing." Tim was already done admiring the soulmark Jon gave him, a mint green handprint around the heel of his palm to the back of his hand. Of course, he would be used to it, having received so many already. 

Reluctantly, Jon tore his gaze from his marked hand to glare at Tim, although any heat that might've gone behind it had evaporated away. "Oh, of course, we're making jokes now." He rolled his eyes. "For your information, _you_ also have a crush on _me._ " Saying the words aloud stole the air from Jon's lungs for the second time in five minutes. He'd never thought that _Timothy Stoker_ of all people would reciprocate his feelings, so he'd decided to sit on them until they went away, as usual. But now there was the undeniable evidence, as plain as day, that he did reciprocate. More than that, they were apparently _soulmates_. He involuntarily let out an undignified wheeze of breath at the realization and Tim broke out into giggles.

"Dude, I've been hitting on you for about two months now." He slid off Jon's desk and pulled up a chair. "You're telling me you didn't notice?" He perched himself in the chair, head resting on his knees and smiling that infuriatingly endearing smile. 

"You...well, in my defense, you hit on just about everyone." Jon felt his face heat up and directed his half-hearted glare to the space just next to Tim's head.

"I'm _nice_ to everybody." A few stray giggles burst out of Tim's mouth. "And I've only been hitting on you for the past two months. So...brings up the question of what we're doing with our relationship."

Jon's gaze snapped back to Tim's face, brow furrowing with confusion. "I mean, I assumed we'd be dating." He held up his hand, as if that were irrefutable evidence. He'd never exactly heard of romantic soulmates doing anything but getting together. His grandmother had been pretty by-the-book when it came to soulmates, and in all the books he'd read, a romantic soulmate was essentially your life partner. Those stereotypes were less widely-held by the general public nowadays, but the media hadn't quite gotten around to it.

Tim shrugged, apparently unconcerned with all that. "I mean, traditionally yeah. And I've no issue with dating you." He flashed Jon a smile and a wink that made him flush dark. "But sometimes it doesn't really work out that way, which is fine. Plus, I'm not exactly monogamous, so I get if that's not something you're into. Not everyone is."

"No, it's...I mean, I...I'm not opposed to dating you." Jon mentally smacked himself the second it came out of his mouth. "No, I meant I would like to. And you not being monogamous doesn't bother me, that's alright." He surprised himself with how readily accepting he was of that. It wasn't like he was ever the jealous type, and he trusted Tim. 

"Oh, nice! Boyfriends then?" Tim grinned cheekily and held out his hand, like they were finalizing some sort of business deal. With a jolt, Jon realized it was his marked hand. He reached out his own shaky hand and held him where they'd first touched. It made for a bit of an awkward handshake, but they both laughed at it and it left a pleasant warm glow in Jon's chest.

"Boyfriends then." He agreed. "Oh, and I guess as long as we're talking about relationship things. I'm asexual." Jon reluctantly released Tim's hand and brought it to clasp tightly together with his own. "I don't get sexually attracted to anyone, and I don't like sex. Never have, never will. So if...if that's sort of a dealbreaker for you, I'd understand." His words came out stiff and formal, the fear of rejection gnawing deep in his belly. 

"Well, I'm glad you told me." Tim said warmly. "I really don't mind. I like you for who you are, not because I'm going nuts over the prospect of boning." He laughed, and Jon felt his worries slide away at that easy smile. "Don't you worry, I still want us to be the power couple of the Institute." 

"I thought that was Jenny and Mark." Jon teased. Falling back into their normal banter was easy and comforting. He was coming to another realization, that he'd been worried about their casual dynamic changing to something else. Something more. But it was like nothing had even happened. 

(Except something _had_ happened and Jon was absolutely ecstatic and wanted to show off his new soulmark to everyone. He would certainly be showing Georgie)

"Oh, they have got nothing on us." Tim stood up and, in what Jon thought to be a very irritating (endearing) move, placed his hands on Jon's waist and hoisted him up out of his chair and placed him back down on the ground like he were some sort of cat. "Anyway, it's getting late. We ought to be getting home."

Jon rolled his eyes, but made no move to go back to work. "You're horrible." He grumbled. Tim offered his hand and Jon nearly immediately held it. "The absolute worst."

"Yeah yeah. Love you too, Jonnycakes." His tone was light and casual, but he squeezed Jon's hand and he felt like his heart might stop. 

They walked to the tube station hand in hand, and Jon couldn't help thinking about how he could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jon voice: what do u mean people care about me???????


	2. there's no other place in the world where i rather would be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's chapter sponsored by: healthy communication  
> also last chapter's title was from Angeleyes by ABBA, this one is from Honey, Honey
> 
> anyway sorry this update took forever i got busy w/school and kept being literally exhausted but here we go!! i am in the mood to write for it

Tim had been absolutely delighted to find out that Jonathan Sims, Mr. Professionalism himself, was a cuddler. 

It hadn't been a slow, gradual process like he'd expected either. Once he gave Jon the go-ahead to cuddle him basically whenever, he was curled up next to him like a cat in a flash. Which was surprising because Tim didn't know Jon to be very affectionate. The only thing keeping Tim from dying on the spot was the fact that Jon hadn't suddenly become very verbally affectionate. But even with that, his heart was nearly always on the verge of giving up each time Jon held his hand or put his head on Tim's shoulder. 

Sasha, naturally, had not believed a word of it. She'd been happy for them when they'd started going out, of course. It was just that she was also friends with Jon and never actually knew him to be very affectionate in any manner. She'd assumed Tim was making jokes or something until Jon kissed Tim on the cheek one day at work and she very rudely laughed at Tim while he actually started dying. Since then, she loved to tease them about it, especially Tim for losing his cool every time Jon was even slightly sweet.

So it was just natural that when Jon got the promotion to Head Archivist, and the three of them had gotten through with bitching about how Elias was probably very sexist, she bullied Tim relentlessly about finally getting that illicit boss/employee relationship he'd been dreaming of for so long. He had thrown a few pens at her and received only two back. 

Tim thinks he would probably find it all annoying if he didn't love Sasha to pieces. They'd been platonic soulmates for years, hers was the yellow handprint on his wrist. They got their marks from each other during uni and she had grabbed him when he tipped his chair too far back and fell. And nothing had really changed between them, which was really nice. There'd been one small bump when they hooked up that once, just for a bit of fun, and things had gotten a bit awkward after. But they always came back to each other, and that was no exception. 

Now he was afraid there might be another, slightly less-small bump in their friendship. 

_____

"So," He had told Jon. "I may be having some not-exactly-platonic feelings toward Sasha." 

"Ok." Jon mumbled into his shoulder, keeping his attention focused on the movie even though he'd seen it at least four times. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say you aren't exactly going to act like some romance novel love interest."

Tim playfully shoved at Jon, who just chuckled softly. "You menace. Absolute fiend. I might just sweep her off her feet and woo her to bits. But seriously, that's alright by you? If I do actually try and start something with her?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Tim feels Jon nod against him. "I mean, it's you and Sasha. S'not like it's...I don't know, Martin or someone I don't know." 

"Is that something we should talk about? If I were to date someone you didn't know?" 

"Hm. It's..." Jon trailed off and Tim could see him press his lips together in the dim light. Feelings and thought processes were a bit tricky for Jon to express sometimes, always had been. But Tim had impressed the importance of good communication until Jon gave him a signature death glare and said he got it, so he was just going to have to make do. 

"It's not that I wouldn't be ok with it, I don't think." Jon managed after a moment. "I trust you, of course. I just would like to meet them at some point, get to know them."

"Ah, I see." Tim smiled down at his boyfriend (!!!). "You wanna steal all my partners from me. You charming devil."

Jon grumbles a bit about how _he is not doing that_ and _he's just saying-_ and Tim just laughs and pulls him closer. God, he is one lucky dude. "Well, anyway, back to my grand plan on how to romance Sasha."

"Grand."

"So, the plan is to fall out of another chair-"

_____

Tim did not follow through with his plans to fall off a chair to romance Sasha. He'd considered it, just a little bit, but decided that he didn't really want to risk head injury. 

Plus, he was afraid of ruining the relationship he already had with Sasha. He loved her so much and was so glad that he got to be her friend. Things were good between them, and he didn't know if she would return his romantic feelings. It has happened before, where a soulmark is one-sided. If Tim confessed to her and she didn't feel the same, he didn't know if he could stand any possible awkwardness between them. Sasha not returning the feelings wasn't an issue, he was happy to be with her in whatever way she wanted. But if he messed up their friendship again, he didn't know what he'd do with himself. 

But what really happened was a very simple thing. Sasha texted him saying she needed to go grocery shopping and asked if he wanted to come with. Tim agreed, since grocery shopping can be very fun with good company and he considers himself to be very fine company indeed. He then texted Jon about this development, who responded with "wow be sure to sweep her off her feet at the tesco, mr smooth" and Tim said he was going to block Jon for being rude. He did not do this.

_____

"Alright, she's stopping in the pasta aisle. Which one will she chose? Looks like a hard decision between spaghetti and the corkscrews! This is a very tense moment, ladies and gents-"

"Will you shut up?" Sasha giggled, dropping two boxes of corkscrew noodles in her basket. Tim let out a little cheer, to which she rolls her eyes.

"Hey, maybe I've found my true passion as a sports announcer." He crossed his arms behind his back and followed her down the next aisle. "Maybe you should encourage my dreams instead of putting me down all the time." 

Sasha shakes her head and smiles, and Tim is once again reminded of how beautiful she is. Not that he needs much reminding; it was obvious. Obvious in the way her brown eyes shone when she laughed, in the way she said his name when he'd done something stupid, in how she bit down on the bobby pins when she was trying to pull her locs into a bun, in the way her forehead creased just a little when she got focused. In every way she existed, Sasha James was beautiful. That was a fact of life. 

"Try and get better dreams, then." She shoved him playfully and Tim laughed as he followed her down the next aisle. "You are a ridiculous man and I don't know why we're friends."

Tim linked arms with her and gave her his best shit-eating grin. "It's because you love me."

"Unfortunately, that is true."

"Unfortunate? You say that like I've not--" Tim is rudely cut off by Sasha accidentally stepping on the back of his shoe, which made him stumble, which made him trip over nothing. Sasha caught his wrist before he fell over and laughed. 

"Thank god that stopped you from telling me you've got a fat ass for the five-hundredth time." She shook her head and grabbed a couple bags of sliced bread. 

Tim gasped in mock offence, placing a hand over his heart. "I'm appalled. Aghast. Astounded. You wound me deeply, Ms James." 

"Well sorry for pointing out that you don't have the fattest ass in the archives." She reaches for a small box of muffins. "We all know that's--" She pauses and shifts the box to her other hand to examine the palm of her right hand. Tim was just about to ask what she was doing when she held her hand up to him. "Does it look lighter to you?" 

He leans forward to check, and she was right. Where the whole of her right palm had been a nice shade of hot pink for several years, it was now a lighter shade of rose. "Huh. It does, yeah." Tim tries to say it as calmly as he can, while his mind is running a hundred miles a minutes. As subtly as he can, he checks out the soulmark on his left wrist. It had gone from a shade of buttercup to a light blond. 

Tim really did not know what to do about this. He felt like his brain cells were fried. If Sasha wanted to stay purely platonic, what good what it do to bring up the change in his own? Unless she was alright with dating? This was all too much to think about in the bread aisle at Tesco. He needed to go home and have a lie down and have a chat with Jon about it and maybe cry or something. Make a night of it. This is not the type of thing he was able to make good snap judgments about.

Luckily, Sasha had noticed Tim's own change on her own. "Oh, yours is too..." She trailed off, still pointing vaguely at Tim's wrist. Eventually, her eyes lit up and she beamed over at him. "So, looks like I don't have to worry about admitting that _maybe_ you might be the love interest?"

"Oh thank god, I was about to have a heart attack." Tim joked, feeling all the pressure lift off of his shoulders. "I sure hope I'm the love interest! Right now there would be this swell of romantic music and we kiss oh-so-sweetly." He pressed a hand to his heart, feeling butterflies in his stomach when Sasha laughed. 

"Well, unfortunately we aren't in The Notebook." Sasha dropped her muffins in her basket and linked arms with him again as they moved on. "And you've got a boyfriend." 

Tom nods and grabs a box of cookies as they pass. "Yes, that I do. Not very conducive to our Hollywood monogamous heteronormative romance plotline is it?" 

"Seeing as neither you, Jon or I are in the least bit straight, cis, or white, we would be getting a whole other plotline. Someone is probably cheating on the other."

"Hollywood can't even keep up with us right now." Tim laughs. It was easy to fall back into their regular back-and-forth. "Well Ms. James, would you care to accompany me to tell my boyfriend that I might have a girlfriend?" 

Sasha laughed her beautiful laugh and socked him gently in the arm. "Sounds like a date, Mr. Stoker." 

_____

"So, you tripped him." Jon pointed at Sasha, barely suppressing a smile. "And had your big romantic moment in the bread aisle at Tesco." 

"Look, bread is plenty romantic." Tim readjusted his position so Jon wasn't cuddling directly up to his elbow. "I mean, honestly, if we had some big moment, it would feel weird."

Sasha snorted from Tim's other side, sat up on the arm of the sofa. "What's this? Mr. Stoker admitting to _not_ wanting a dramatic gesture? Who are you and where's my potential boyfriend?" 

Tim shushed both Jon's and Sasha's laughter, although he was smiling himself. He loved both of these people so much. "Yeah, yeah, maybe I'm not a big ol' flashy guy all the time. Can a man not have depth?" 

"No."

"Sasha, kindly shut up." He pointed at her, which only prompted her to flip him off. "Anyway, Jon. Serious question time. Are you ok if Sasha and I start dating? I know we talked about it a while ago, but I'd like to check back in with it." 

Jon hardly hesitates a minute before nodding. "Of course it's fine by me. I trust both of you, and Sasha's one of my best friends. I hardly doubt any of our dynamic will change."

"Alright. If anything about that changes, you better let me know or I'll stick you on top of the fridge." Tim smiles and wrinkles up his nose at Jon, who also flips him off. They both know full well that Tim could and would make good on that threat. 

Sasha hopped off her perch and shuffled over to cuddle Tim on his other side, mumbling something about "having partner privileges now". Unfortunately, Tim could feel his face heating up as he froze slightly. He has absolutely been in no way prepared for Sasha to also be affectionate. 

"Oh my god, you killed him." 

"Shhh!" Tim flapped his hands around, trying to calm down his scattered, flustered brain. "I am very cool and smooth." To prove this, he placed his free arm over Sasha's shoulders and then disproved it by blushing harder at her subsequent contented smile. 

"Riiight." She poked him in the chest. "We'll let you think that." 

Tim grumbled a bit more about it, but he fell silent pretty quickly once Jon turned the TV on and switched it to some shitty reality show. And while he sat there, listening to Sasha and Jon complain about the people on the show, there was such a warmth in his ribcage that he couldn't help an excited little wiggle. He was in love, and he was loved, and it was all so easy that he felt like he could walk on air if he tried. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when you could just go grocery shopping,,,,the inherent romance of it
> 
> Everyone: canonically shit at communication  
> Me, hitting them with a newspaper: make an effort
> 
> Absolutely nothing supernatural will happen in this fic I have personally whacked the Dread Powers with a broom until they stayed away


	3. mamma mia, here we go again/ my my how can i resist you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter brought to you by: the fact that I like chatfics too much tbh 
> 
> today's title from mamma mia. a classic
> 
> Why Did This Take So Long To Write Wh
> 
> if any of you catch me describing a romantic relationship as "more" than a friendship pls shake the sense back into me

_General Archiving_

**Marty The Zebra From Madagascar:** no see the issue isn't the nickname 

**Marty The Zebra From Madagascar:** the problem is i'm literally not like the madagascar zebra

 **timothee chalamamat:** well idk what to tell u ur stuck with it now 

**girl scout sash:** Tim is most like the zebra tbh 

**timothee chalamamat:** D:<!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 **timothee chalamamat:** sasha sweetie darling love baby pumpkin honey dear im actually so hurt and offended by ur words rn 

**Marty The Zebra From Madagascar:** he's gonna say he's like king julian lmao 

**timothee chalamamat:** if ANYONE im sexy king julian 

**timothee chalamamat:** MARTIN TOO???? GANGING UP ON ME??? I THOUGHT I HAD AN ALLY SMH 

**girl scout sash:** Lmao 

**timothee chalamamat:** heart been broke so many times 

**timothee chalamamat:** look if u dont wanna b marty what other better cooler nicknames do u have in mind huh 

_Marty The Zebra From Madagascar has changed their nickname to Jolly Green Giant_

**Jolly Green Giant:** what do we think about this

 **girl scout sash:** Martin stabs tim in the back asmr dfhbjdhd

 **girl scout sash:** Tim i see you typing,,,hurry up sir

 **timothee chalamamat:** ur a terrible person martin and sasha ur a terrible gf i hate u both and im quitting this job and moving to poland and becoming a little babushka who just make pierogi for a living (i dont think i spelled piergo right) and then what you guys can come knocking on my door all u want and i will refuse ur service u cannot buy my pierogi me and my gorgeous spouse and our husky dog are happy together and i will live my life not being bullied /j

 **Jolly Green Giant** **:** dude fjhdhdhjd 

**girl scout sash** **:** dkjdjdj

 **Jolly Green Giant:** they say the short ones are the angriest,,,

 **timothee chalamamat:** martin im going to eat ur fucking lunch dont test me 

**timothee chalamamat:** being 164cm is a REASONABLE height it's NORMAL unlike u 180cm freaks of nature 

**girl scout sash:** Are you mad again because I'm the tallest in the archives

 **Jolly Green Giant:** second tallest here!

 **girl scout sash:** :handshake emoji:

 **timothee chalamamat:** smh at least i have the fattest ass

 **girl scout sash:** Nah martin's got u beat there lmao 

**Jolly Green Giant:** hell yeah baybee

 **timothee chalamamat:** fuck off :'( 

**timothee chalamamat:** sasha one day im going to just steal ur fucking ridiculous amounts of height and then what hm 

**timothee chalamamat:** trans rights and all i wanna b tall 

**girl scout sash:** Trans right would be letting me keep my height smh :) 

**timothee chalamamat:** fuck off fuck u how come martin gets to be tall as fuck huh what the fuck happened

 **Jolly Green Giant:** idk just pure luck

 **Jolly Green Giant:** height-weight distribution or some bullshit 

**timothee chalamamat:** fuck off ufck off fuuhfdjbghds im weeping rn 

**girl scout sash:** No he isnt

_girl scout sash changed timothee chalamamat's nickname to piergo_

**piergo** **:** huh????

 **piergo:** NOOOOOO sasha im kicking u out of the polycule martin will u replace her bcus ur a little bit nicer to me :(

 **girl scout sash:** Im irreplaceable you know this

Martin smiled at his phone screen as the chat (supposedly for work reasons) devolved into Tim and Sasha bullying each other. Despite all the little banter they had, they were actually almost disgustingly adorable when he saw them in person. It wasn't any sort of secret that Tim was dating Jon and Sasha, although Jon liked to keep a low profile for "professionalism's sake" (or whatever he'd said when Martin had found him and Tim cuddling in the break room). It might've been awkward being the fourth wheel, but Tim and Sasha had taken him under their wings pretty quickly and it never felt like he was treated as any less. Jon was...a little more reserved, a little grouchier, but he was alright. Got a bit mad when Martin did his work wrong (which, if the archive was run like it was meant to be and not a second research department, his previous library experience might've come in handy. But hey) but that was fair enough, he supposed. He was making friends and that was a lot more than he'd expected to do. 

(And they _are_ his friends and they _do_ care about him. Things like this, affirmations, he's been trying to do lately. He thinks it's been helpful.)

It wasn't like Martin didn't appreciate their friendship. He absolutely did, more than nearly anything else, he valued his friendships with Tim and Sasha (and maybe Jon, he isn't sure). But it really was things like this. Things like Sasha complimenting his jumper at work or Tim jokingly inviting him into the polycule, or Jon's rare soft smiles. The things that would make his stomach flip and his insides go all mushy and his mind go wild. Things that made him want something else, something _different._ Something like they all have with each other but not him. He feels a bit guilty about it, for wanting more than was given to him. The last thing he wants to do is intrude on their own dynamic or overstep any boundaries or ruin their friendships, and he feels like he's going to inevitably do one or more of those. Because Martin is a clumsy man and he won't be able to keep it all in forever. Which is unfortunate. 

With his good mood having been successfully ruined, he checks the chat one last time (Sasha is currently talking about a funny story from high school) and sends a quick goodnight message before turning his phone off. He gets up off his couch and stretches. Stupid feelings. Almost as if on an autopilot, he makes his way to his small kitchen to make his nightly cup of tea. It might seem like a bit of a stupid hobby, but he really enjoys tea-making, especially when he gets to experiment a bit and make his own blends. It's a nice routine to have and it lets himself do something nice for himself and others. He filled his kettle with water and goes to grab his nighttime blend. Half chamomile, half lavender in his cat-shaped tea ball, a scoop of loose-leaf herbal green tea, and a bit of honey and milk after. It might not be a lot, and he did kind of find the recipe online, but it did always bring his mood up just a bit. 

The water takes about five minutes to boil, and the tea takes eight to steep to his liking. He adds in the right amount of honey and milk (two spoonfuls and just a little splash), stirs it counterclockwise thrice (to help get rid of any lingering anxieties, which is quite a few), and sits himself down at his little table. There's a little cluster of other just-about-empty tea mugs sitting there, collecting mold and fruit flies. There's a brief moment where he thinks about picking it up, but the thought lasts only for that moment. He'll do it tomorrow, he tells himself, although he probably won't. His favorite part of the tea routine is this; sitting with a warm mug in his hands, listening to the cars and people outside his window. There's always some car alarm going off or someone having an argument, and it's a bit nice to know he isn't all alone. 

Ten minutes later, his mug has gone cold again and the tea is nearly finished. Martin is about to leave it with the rest before a faint idea hits him. "Well, why not." He mutters to himself, and drains the last of the now room-temperature tea. Reading the tea leaves isn't something he actually does very much, even though it would probably be the most convenient form of divination for him (he prefers his tarot cards, which were actually a bit expensive and have cute prints of flowers). He supposes you ought to have a question in mind when doing this sort of thing, but this was just general. Plus, it was about 11pm on a Thursday and frankly, Martin doesn't think he should be expected to have coherent thoughts at that time. He places his tea mug down on his table and fixes his glasses as he squints down into it.

Tasseomancy had never appealed to him precisely because he had awful vision and could never tell what the little tea leaf blobs were meant to be. He has immense respect for anyone who is good at it. There were three big ones, so he focused on those and didn't bother with the little bits floating around in there. The smallest of the three sort of looked like a bird (maybe) which meant good luck if he remembered correctly, so he files that one as a win for him. Another could've been a coffin (which means death and is not a win) or a rectangle. He stares at that one for a moment longer before sort of giving up with it. The last is definitely a horseshoe, which is also a symbol of good things to come. So, Martin concludes, things should be ok except someone might die. He definitely prefers tarot, with how straightforward the cards are in their meanings.

That mug joins the cluster on the table, and Martin shuts all the lights off and goes to sleep. He dreams of warmth and hands holding his.

_____

He does a tarot spread that morning, when he knows he's got about ten minutes before he needs to leave for work. It's stupid, _he's_ stupid and the spread is a love one. It really does feel silly, and he feels a hot spike of embarrassment even though no one else is even going to _know_. He's just got love on the brain.

Six cards, two on top, three in the middle, one on the bottom. He'd found it on Pinterest, never had the creativity to make up his own. 

The first card represents himself. It's the Star reversed. He snorts out a laugh at it. Yeah, figures. Self criticism, not hopeful about a romance. Obvious.

Second is the other person (people?). Four of wands. A celebration of love publicly. There's...not a lot to make from it, not at the moment. 

Third is connection, what brings them together. Knight of cups. A love of love and romance. Martin smiles a little, his mind supplying a name without his permission.

Fourth is the strengths in the relationship. Three of cups. Friendships becoming romantic, time with loved ones. Again, more names, no permission. Stupid feelings.

Fifth is the weaknesses. Six of swords. Being weighed down and unable to move past something. 

Sixth is the signifier of how the relationship will go. The Sun. Positivity, confidence, joy. Martin feels warm in his chest. It's about the best card to get in this place. 

He whispers a "thank you" to the cards and puts them back on his nightstand. The ten minutes are up and he bustles back into his routine. 

_____

Martin had not been having the best week at work. 

It's generally a given that he won't be having a great time at work, considering his lack of knowledge in the area. Oh, he's sure he could've managed if they kept the place running like an archive, but Jon had wanted to make it another Research Department, which meant that any of Martin's experience from his years in the library were out the window. Sasha and Tim helped where they could, but he didn't want to bother them with his stupid questions. It's bad enough that they've always got to correct him on the most basic things, he doesn't want to make them think he's a total idiot. Or maybe they already do, which would be fair. 

Sasha and Tim and Jon. They were his second problem. Martin had been doing his best to ignore any and all pesky feelings related to the trio, he didn't want to impose on their relationship or their dynamic or anything. But the problem is that he still _has_ these feelings and Tim had figured out he'd got a crush on someone in the Institute. Sasha figured it out pretty quickly afterwards and so it has become a little tradition of theirs to throw a name at him when he comes into work and see if they got it right. Martin's pretty sure they'd stop if he asked, but it's just harmless fun and it's his own fault for getting all messed up in his emotions. And for some reason he can't stop feeling _guilty_ about having them. 

Objectively, he knows it's fine. Having feelings isn't the same as actions, so it's fine, logically. If someone had come to him guilty because they had feelings for someone in a relationship, he would comfort them and say that it's fine, that it isn't wrong to have feelings for a person, that they aren't a bad person. But something about it being _him_ made it inherently wrong. Like he wasn't allowed to have feelings for people because he was Martin Blackwood and that's what made it wrong. It made sense to him, but he knew that if he tried to express this to anyone they'd think he's nuts. 

So, suffice to say, Martin had not been having the best week. 

"I've got it today, I know it." Tim announced as Martin sat down at his desk. "It's gotta be Angela from Artifact Storage, I know it. I'll give you five quid if it isn't."

Instead of answering, Martin popped open his laptop and held his hand out. He chuckled to himself as Tim groaned and practically chucked the money at him. "Sorry you keep getting it wrong." He grinned. Eventually, though, he'd start moving to the Archive staff, and well. Then what could he do?

"Martin. Marty. Martini. You're killing me." Tim kicked his feet up on his desk and threw and arm dramatically across his face. "I'm dying. The only way to save me is to tell me about your mysterious love life."

Martin looked quizzically at Sasha, who just shrugged. "He's like this all the time." was her only explanation. She seemed to be mostly uninvolved in this. Lucky.

"It's not that big of a deal, honestly." Martin clicked through his tabs to avoid looking at Tim. "You don't have to get all...worked up, you know?"

"Fine, fine." Martin could hear the smile in Tim's voice. "Honest, I'll leave you be. You and your mystery lover can go run off into the sunset."

If Martin were a more optimistic and hopeful man, he would've thought there to be something else in Tim's voice. Jealousy? Disappointment? Bitterness? He didn't know and he was pretty sure he was imagining it. Anyway, the important thing was Tim was going to stop bugging him about his crush, which was good. A stab of guilt ran through his stomach at that. He really was just ruining a harmless joke because he was too sensitive, wasn't he? It was an absolute miracle that Tim and Sasha put up with him. If they put up with him at all, that is. Maybe it was some pity thing. Hanging out with poor old Martin because he's got absolutely no one else to spend any time with. 

Add all that to the fact that Martin was currently staring blankly at the document on his computer screen with a lump in his throat because he had hardly the barest idea of where to begin and what to do (and he really didn't want to bother Tim and Sasha with his stupid questions) and you've got the perfect recipe for Martin to have a bad day. 

He took a deep breath in, held it for a moment, and let it out. Right. This wouldn't do, especially not this early. 

"I'm off to put the kettle on, if anyone wants tea." Martin shut his laptop and stood up. Making tea was always calming, and then having a nice warm cup of tea to drink was also very calming. Really, it's a win-win situation. He made sure to wait a moment, in case somebody did want some.

Tim raised his hand like an overly excited primary school student. "Ooh, yeah! Could I get some of that green tea, if there's still any? If not, lemon? Usual setup. You're the best, love you."

"Usual as in more milk than tea? Got it." Martin tried his best not to flush at Tim's casual "love you", and only mostly succeeded. "Sasha?" 

She shook her head and pointed over at the door to Jon's office. "I'm all set, thank you! Jon probably wants something, lord knows the guy doesn't eat anything normally."

"Bit concerning, hm?" Martin nodded. "I'll be back with Tim's ungodly tea in about ten minutes, then." Before he heads down the hall to the break room, he makes sure to knock on Jon's door and poke his head in. 

Jon looks...well, same as always. Tired, grouchy, probably needs a hug. "What do you need, Martin?" He asks, barely looking up from his file.

"Right, uh...just wondering if you wanted some tea?"

"No, thank you. I'll make some 'round noon." 

"Alright, sorry to bother you." He waves goodbye, which doesn't get acknowledged beyond a vague noise, and he shuts the door behind him. That Jon, always working himself into an entire state. He wasn't terrible or anything to Martin, but he definitely got a bit snippy. Probably a result of sleep deprivation, he thinks. As he makes his way to the break room, he wonders vaguely if Jon would accept a tin of his nighttime tea blend, or if that would be weird. 

Tim was in luck, because there was a couple more bags of the green tea he was in love with. And for himself, Martin thought that mint tea he'd just got would be nice. The routine of making the tea was always soothing, even in the Institute's break room where the electric kettle broke nearly every week and it was just a few degrees too warm to want to take any breaks during the warmer months. The AC was broken or something and no one ever fixed it, or something like that. 

It took just over ten minutes to get the process done and over with. Water boiled, tea steeped, milk and honey and sugar added to drinker's liking, three clockwise stirs each for good energy. Usually, that gets him into a decent enough mood but Martin still felt...hollow. He really didn't want to go back to work. The shame of just staring at his screen, unsure how to start. Feeling stupid every time he needs something explained to him. Always worrying he isn't doing enough. He doesn't want to go back to that. A good part of him just wants to stay in the break room until the day ended and then just leave forever. 

On the other hand, he couldn't let Tim's tea get cold. 

After a moment of deliberation and feeling thoroughly stupid on both ends, he decided on a compromise with himself. He'd take a few minutes to get himself back in a decent state to actually do his job, and then he'd go and ace the day. Unlikely to happen, most he could hope for was going through without too many hiccups, but a bit of faked confidence never hurt. Manifestation and all that. Besides, he deserved a bit of a break! So, with that declaration, he sat down on the worn-out couch and let out a small sigh. He checked his phone and told himself that he would just be there for two or three minutes.

______

Martin, unfortunately, has never been the best at understanding the unobserved flow of time. Seconds were minutes and minutes were hours when he wasn't staring at a clock. Which is how he found himself taking an eight minute break instead of a two minute one.

He didn't notice this, although he was planning on going back in just a moment, and was putting some honey and milk into his own tea when Tim came into the break room. 

"Yo, Martin!" He waved and hung slightly off the doorframe. Martin supposes he might've been trying for dramatic but it mostly looked like he was about to fall off. "What's up, man, you've been here like...twenty minutes. Everything ok?"

A shock of alarm ran through Martin's gut as he checked the clock and saw that, yes, about twenty minutes have gone by since he came in here. "I'm sorry, I just lost track of time, I do it a lot. I just needed to take a little sit-down for a moment and got all distracted or something. I was just about to head out." He set the honey bottle down and picked at a loose thread in his jumper, keeping his eyes firmly locked on the ground.

"Oh good, Sash and I thought you like....died or something." Tim's bright laughter did something to ease the worst of Martin's anxiety. "Is something the matter?" Tim had sat himself down on the couch and was looking at him with that Look he got sometimes. Head titled, arms crossed, eyes curious and worried. Martin called it his "mom face" which Tim hated, but Martin had the sneaking suspicion he was faking it. 

Something about that look always got Martin to open up. He couldn't help it, Tim was just unnaturally good at listening. He sat down next to him, folding his hands in his lap. "I dunno, I just feel stupid at work. I keep bugging you all with dumb questions, I don't like it any more than you do. I just...I don't know, it's stupid."

"You might _feel_ stupid, but you aren't." Tim turned his whole self to face Martin, like he was the most important thing in the room right now. Tim could make Martin almost feel it. "You're learning. Jon kinda flipped the whole archive, he was from Research and honestly I don't think he knows what he's doing, really. Your library skillset is good in a library setting, bu-u-t it's not what's used here. So you're learning." He smiled and shrugged, like it was easy as that. "Sasha and I don't mind helping out. What're friends for, you know? Plus, you're like...the only one of us who majored in spooky shit so you're probably better off than all of us."

Martin smiled too, easy as that. He didn't like lying to Tim, or any of them, he felt guilty every time it was brought up. But he really didn't want to get fired. Which was why, when he found himself saying "Actually...there's one more thing", he was surprised at himself. The problem and solution was: he trusted Tim. Tim never made him feel stupid or judged, always tried to include him, made him smile, made his chest go all fuzzy. And Tim, now, was looking at him with his listening expression still on, like he'd never dream of thinking less of Martin for anything. What's Martin meant to do with that?

"I lied on my CV." The words spill out in a rush and he keeps his eyes glued to the floor. He doesn't want to see how Tim reacts. "I didn't even finish high school, had to drop out to take care of my mum and nowhere was really hiring dropouts, you know, so I just...I had to make up some stuff and somehow I managed an interview with Elias and didn't get fired after a month, so. I'm really not qualified in any type of way?" Martin holds his breath and clasps his hands together, digging his nails in harder than he meant. 

Tim is quiet for a moment, then: "Oh, dude, that's kinda neat!" It sounds like he's smiling, and when Martin turns to look, he is. Not a bright and energetic smile, but a softer one.

"I...how do you mean?" This wasn't exactly the reaction Martin was expecting. He hadn't known _what_ to expect.

"I just mean, like...for one, sticking it to academic snobbery. Proving you don't need any sort of university degree to be good at something. Two, that's the bravest fucking thing I've heard of. Balls of absolute steel."

"Tim, I don't-"

"Yes, me neither. Trans jokes aside! Three, you did it for a good reason and I respect that. Absolutely insane of you." He smiles and lightly punches Martin's shoulder. "For real. I barely survived my interview with Elias and I was being very honest. Elias is a scary bastard, and you lied your ass off to him in an interview, lived to tell the tale, and then picked up on the job-specific skillset quickly enough that they kept you around. And you did a good job up in the library! That's baller. Absolute madlad. I love you so much right now." 

Martin laughed, feeling a weight come off his shoulders. "Look, it's...you can't tell anyone, ok? Not that I think you would, I just don't want word getting around too much." 

"Yeah, no problem! It'll be our dirty little secret." Tim winked and mimed zipping his mouth shut and throwing the key away.

"No, don't call it that, I hate you." Martin smiled and pushed himself off the couch. He still had his tea to deliver, and it should still be warm enough. "You're terrible."

"You love me." Tim followed Martin to the counter and looped his arm around Martin's. "Thank you for the tea, as always."

Martin handed Tim his mug and felt a thrill of warmth and happiness run through him. He was so lucky to have a friend like Tim. "Yeah, any time. Off to work for us, now."

Tim groaned dramatically but headed back into the Archives. Martin was just behind him, no longer worried about the day. He was surrounded by people he knew he could trust with anything, even his stupid questions.

______

It was only when he was getting ready for bed that he noticed. 

Martin was struggling out of his binder, and his arm was right in his face. A small wave of icy surprise rolled through him as he noticed the rosy pink mark left on his forearm. Once his binder was off, he stopped his routine to just stare for a moment, wide-eyed and anxious. The color of it almost blended completely into his skin tone, no wonder he hadn't noticed before! It covered the front and side of his forearm and it felt like icicles in his ribcage when he realized it had to be from Tim. Tim had touched him there that morning and his color was pink, it just made sense. Either Tim had a matching mark and didn't say anything or it was one-sided and he hadn't seen Martin's mark appear. One-sided soulmarks are usually pretty rare, since it's more likely two people will be important to each other's lives. There are people with idols and unrequited crushes, but often they don't touch as easily as soulmates might. One-sided feelings are common, but some sort of mark will appear on both people if they're both of importance to each other, which is usually the case when one develops feelings for the other.

Martin isn't sure if it's one of those situations for him. Pale colors indicate a romantic soulbond. If it was just his unrequited attraction to Tim, it ought to show up as a neutral tone, for platonic. Wouldn't it? He's honestly not too sure. If Tim didn't have a mark, would it mean he didn't feel anything towards Martin? Was he just somebody Tim tolerated? Anxiety made his stomach twist and he decided to put that to rest and think about it in the morning. He'd see Tim at work and then everything would be settled, one way or another.

He didn't get to sleep until past midnight. 

______

If Martin thought he hated coming into work on a normal day, he absolutely loathed having to do so today. For a minute he'd considered taking a sick day or something, but had decided against it. It wouldn't do to sit on the subject and do nothing about it. Besides, it probably wasn't as dramatic as he was making it out to be. There's a possibility that Tim doesn't care about him at all, but based on the evidence, that's probably not the case. Evidence points to it just being some other thing. It was all very scientific and did nothing to stop him almost bolting when he saw the Magnus Institute. 

Martin is usually one of the first in, alongside Jon (who he isn't sure leaves) and Sasha. But today, it seemed like Tim had gotten in early. He was standing by Sasha's desk and the two of them looked like they were discussing something under the desk. Sasha was checking her computer every so often as well. Both of their heads snapped towards him when they heard the door shut. There was something in both of their expressions that was unreadable, but made him feel a bit on edge.

"Um...hey guys." He smiled awkwardly and sat down at his desk. "Nice weather today."

"Mhm. Hey, can you come over here a second?" Sasha smiled back, eyes gleaming. "Tim and I need to check something out." Tim nodded, seemingly emphasizing the point.

They were definitely up to something. Still, Martin got up and stood on the other side of Sasha's desk. She closed out of some tab and swiveled her chair around to face him. 

"Right. Can I peek at this arm?" She tapped his left arm with a pen. "It's for science."

"Uh. Alright?" Reluctantly, he held it out for her examination. Sasha's eyes scanned up and down his arm while Tim hit two pencils together. It was some sort of song, but Martin couldn't recognize the beat. 

"Aha!" Sasha exclaimed, slapping the desk so loudly Tim and Martin both jumped. "Come take a peek, here, Tim." She pointed at approximately where his soulmark was, just a bit darker than his skin tone. Martin felt butterflies swarm in his stomach as Tim stared at the spot for what felt like ten minutes but was about thirty seconds. Then his eyes lit up and he let out a cheer.

"Martin, you motherfucker!" Tim clapped his hands and laughed. "Oh my _god_ , I was having a heart attack all last night. You shit." He held out his right arm for Martin to look, and it all clicked.

Tim had a baby-blue soulmark on the inside of his right arm. Somewhere in the back of his brain, Martin knew that it would line up exactly where his own mark was. "Oh my god." Was all he could say, softly. He'd been so worried for nothing. 

Sasha laughed, apparently something in his expression was funny. "You look like you saw a ghost! Are you alright, big guy?" Despite the jokes, he could tell there was a genuine concern there.

"Yeah, no, I'm great." He couldn't help the smile stretching across his face. "I hardly noticed my own, it blends right in, and then I was worried about if you'd gotten one too or if you'd just not told me or what." He pointed at Tim accusingly, who was currently doing some sort of happy dance.

"Martin, mine is so obvious, I noticed like two seconds after. And you're pale as fuck so I didn't see yours and I basically had a heart attack." Tim twirls around and then sits on Sasha's desk. "I had to enlist the help of Detective James, here."

"Yeah, I'm charging him a fancy date night." Sasha laughs. Martin is so relieved he feels like he might just fall over. "Speaking of, Tim, you wanna grab Jon?"

Tim nodded, hopped off her desk, and practically ran his way over to Jon's office. He didn't knock, just poked his head in. Martin didn't hear much of what he said, but something along the lines of "polycule meeting" was said, and Tim returned with a mildly disgruntled Jon in tow.

"Is this the Martin thing?" Jon asked bluntly, pulling another chair over to sit on. Martin wonders if there's anyone Tim _didn't_ tell about the situation.

"It is indeed!" Tim made his way over to Martin and held out his left arm again, pointing the mark out to Jon. "So, we're soulmates now. Big question time." He turned to face Martin, all the laughter in his eyes replaced with something serious. "Do you want to like...officially start dating me? I will continue being with Jon and Sasha, so if that's something that bothers you, let me know. I will not be mad."

Martin flushed and glanced over helplessly at where Jon and Sasha were sat. Of course he did want to date Tim, and there was no issue with the other two. He just didn't expect Tim to be so straightforward about it. "I...yes, I do and I don't mind who else you date. I mean, Sasha's one of my closest friends here and I don't know Jon as well but we can get to know each other. That's all...no problems here." He gives a double thumbs-up, hoping that conveys his enthusiasm. 

"Wonderful!" Tim clapped and smiled, like he'd gotten the best news of his life. "Now, Jon, Sasha." He spun around to face them. "No one has issues with Martin joining the group? That's ok with everyone?" To both Martin and Tim's relief, they both said it was alright by them. 

"He's big on communication." Jon gave a dry smile in Martin's direction that made his heartbeat speed up. He decided to save that for a later date. 

"Jonnyboy, darling, sweetest, honey, apple of my eye. Communication is so important in every relationship. But like, especially polyamorous ones because of all the different dynamics." Tim draped himself over the back of Jon's chair. "Just because you hate talking about your feelings doesn't mean I won't force you to do so at every occasion. Love you."

Sasha slapped her desk again, lighter, like she'd just remembered something. "Martin!" She pointed at him, which made him jump. "We gotta add you to the polycule group chat now!" She typed away at her keyboard, and a minute or so later, Martin's phone buzzed with a notification

_tim's honey bunches of oats <3 <3 <3_

**Detective James:** [image.png]

  
_[Image ID: An edited version of the "Gee Billy, how come your mom lets you have two weiners?" meme. The text had been edited to say "Gee Tim, how come your mom lets you have three partners?]_

**Harem Anime Protagonist:** Uhh because my meat is huge and my tits are fat <3

 **Jonnyboy** **:** Change your nickname please

 **Harem Anime Protagonist:** No >:3

Martin chuckled and turned his phone off. He'd make his nickname something funny later on. For now, he was just going to sit in the feeling of being loved and cared about. He feels stupid for having doubted Tim cared for him, in any sort of way. Tim is obvious and open with his love, expresses it as freely as he pleases without any shame. Martin thinks it's one of the most wonderful things about him. 

"Alright, well, this has been a very exciting start to the day." Jon claps his hands together and pushes his chair back to its proper desk. "But we do all need to get some work done." With that, Jon was back in his Archivist mode and back in his office. 

Tim gave a mock little salute at Jon's back before turning to face Martin and pulling him into a hug, with one of his trademark bright smiles on his face. "Welcome to the cult, Martini!"

"It's not a cult." Sasha threw a pen at Tim, which ended up hitting Martin in the arm. "Martin, I promise you it's not a cult."

"Oh sure, totally." He smiled and exaggeratedly winked at her. Sasha just shook her head with a small smile and turned back to her computer. 

Part of Martin doesn't think this could be real. He sits in his own desk and watches as Tim sits down at his. Part of him thinks there's no way he's going to actually be so lucky as to be dating Timothy Stoker, for real. Part of him thinks it's a prank, or a dream. Martin's sure that part will stay around, even if he ends up dating Tim for ten years. That's just how he is. But a bigger part of him is more than ready to welcome a good change into his life. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well now that the tim side of the polycule is set, we just need to get the rest of these nerds together
> 
> martin? being into witchcraft? it's more likely than you think
> 
> this chapter feels so much longer than the others and idk if thats like,,,true or not but it feels so long dnjdjn
> 
> anyway my height headcanons are  
> sasha: 6'  
> martin: 5'10  
> tim: 5'4  
> jon: 5'3


	4. but i won't feel blue/like i always do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today's chapter brought to you by: nerd4nerd love
> 
> title by ABBA's super trouper! i credit my abba lyric chapter titles for the success of this fic
> 
> thinking out this chapter is why i started fr shipping jonsasha i cant lie 2 u
> 
> this was meant to be very sweet and then sasha started bullying jon IMMEDIATELY and i went u go queen
> 
> i am absolutely fucking up tenses. when did this chapter happen. i dont know

When Sasha realized it, it wasn't in any sort of conventional way. No grand sweeping music, no sparks flying through the air, nothing like that. 

What had happened was this. Tim and Martin were off at some rock climbing place or something, since they were the only two that really enjoyed that type of stuff. So, it was just her and Jon staying at home (it was nice to just immediately think of their shared flat as "home" because really, what else could be a home?). It was perfect weather for it, a nice heavy downpour that pattered on the roof and pavement. She'd made herself a warm cup of lemon tea and curled up on the couch in cozy clothes with a good book and prepared for a very relaxing day. All until she heard a dull thud from the bathroom. She very nearly didn't give up, but given Jon's tendency towards vitamin deficiencies, she figured she might have to check and make sure he didn't concuss himself passing out. 

"You alright in here?" Sasha knocked on the bathroom door. 

"Can you help with something?" Came Jon's voice, quieter than usual. This was how Sasha knew it was serious. Jon never asked for help with anything unless he was on the verge of death, and even then, sometimes not. You had to force the man to take care of himself. 

Sasha pushed open the door slowly and took in the scene. Jon was sat on the toilet seat, clutching an antiseptic wipe like it was a lifeline. His T-shot sat on the sink and she vaguely remembered she ought to take her gender pills at some point. There was a first-aid box lying on the floor, which had likely been thrown. Jon was curled up into himself, glancing between her and a spot on the shower stall. He relaxed slightly when he saw her come in and he pointed at the shower. "Spider. Can you get rid of it?" Was his only explanation.

She nodded and pulled off a wad of toilet paper. It was tricky to spot the spider, since it was pretty small, but once she did she crouched slightly and grabbed it with the paper, quick enough so it didn't escape. She crushed it through the toilet paper, grimacing slightly, and went to the kitchen to throw it in the bin. When it was done and over with, she went back to the bathroom. "All clear, sir. Enemy spy has been executed. Resume activities as normal." She grinned and gave a little salute. 

Jon laughed and saluted back. "Thank you, lieutenant. As always, your work is admirable. Martin may disapprove of your methods, however." 

"Oh, boo." She stuck her tongue out at his cheeky little smile. "The little shits shouldn't be in my house anyway." 

"Technically, it's _our_ house."

"Right, you little communist, I'm going back to my book." 

And she did, the sound of Jon's laughter following her. It was always nice, seeing him happy, and Sasha realized that she specifically wanted to be a person that made him happy. She wanted to kill spiders for him and get a bit of fun out of it. She wanted to hold him and bully him gently about how he's so small. She wanted to braid his hair, go out and do things with him, read books like this together, anything that would get him to smile and have her be the one to cause it.

Sasha loved him, she realized. And she was only surprised that it hadn't happened much sooner. 

______

"So...I may be having some non-platonic feelings about your boyfriend."

Tim paused his Mario Kart game and wiggled out of her lap so he could fully face her (which Sasha was vaguely unhappy about). "Yeah, I got good taste in men. Which one?"

"I dunno. Guess." She grinned.

"It's Jon. You're both big old nerds."

"Hey, you're a nerd too! Mister anthropology major." Sasha laughed and shoved him lightly. He fell off the couch, for dramatic effect. "But yeah. It's Jon. Figured I should tell you, since he's your boyfriend and all." 

"Well, thank you for letting me know." Tim smiled, climbed back on the couch, and resumed his game. "You got any plans to ask him out or anything?"

"Nothing yet. I know he won't like a big thing." She opened her arms and made grabby hands at Tim, who laughed and took back his proper spot on her lap.

"That's true. Maybe try like a museum date? I think you'd both like that." 

"This is assuming he's also into me." She wrapped her arms around Tim's midsection, which did make Mario Kart a bit more difficult to play, but she knew he didn't mind cuddles. "There's a chance he doesn't feel the same."

"Sasha, darling, sweetheart, babe, baby, snuggle muffin. The dude is so into you. He's making googoo eyes at you every three seconds, I swear." 

Sasha had to take a moment to process that. It was one thing to imagine going on dates and holding hands and kissing the guy you liked. It was another thing _entirely_ to let herself think that it could actually happen in real life. "Well...I don't see it when it happens." She manages to stammer out, feeling her cheeks flush. She hardly noticed when Tim finished up his game and decided to elbow her in the ribs trying to get properly comfortable. "Hey! Get your bones out of here." 

"Apologies for having bones." 

"You aren't forgiven." 

"I'll have to get them removed then." Tim shifts himself again, elbowing Sasha again in the process, so his head is tucked under her chin and his knees are pressed up to his chest. "But seriously. Go ask Jon on a date. Like a museum thing, or just go on a nice walk. Bookstore date, you'd both like that. The dude's very much into you, and I cannot blame him. I have excellent taste in women." 

"Yeah, alright." She sighed dramatically and repositioned her arms so they were situated comfortably around Tim. "I think the bookshop date idea is actually very nice. I'll try that."

"Just call me the master of love."

"I absolutely will not do that."

______

As it happened, Sasha got her chance to ask Jon out just a couple weeks after she and Tim had talked about it. It was not an easy task to find some time with just Jon in the house. Turns out that having three roommates actually does have a couple of downsides.

But that evening, Tim had run out to get some last minute groceries and Martin was getting some things for his holiday Mabon (Sasha didn't really get much of his witch stuff but it was important to him. Plus, she thought a lot of it was really interesting). So, as it stood, she was helping Jon make dinner while the others were out and she figured it was about the best chance she was going to get.

It would be more accurate to say that Jon was making dinner and Sasha was standing around in the kitchen. He was making kabsa and apparently was very particular about literally everything about the recipe, so only he was allowed to do the cooking. She'd offered to help, but Jon just said his grandma had had a pretty specific way of it and he didn't need anything getting messed up. So, Sasha stood there and watched him mixing up all sorts of spices and cooking the chicken. It looked like he had it under control, but still, Sasha felt awkward just sitting around. 

"I know you said you don't want my help, but I feel bad just watching. Can I at least cut some things up?" She asked, leaning against the refrigerator.

"If you absolutely must do something, here." Jon sighed and turned away from the chicken for a moment. He threw some more spices, chilies, tomato paste, and some water into the blender and mixed it up. Once it was all mixed, he popped the blender off and held it out to her. "Put this in a pan and cover it up and you can watch it until it boils." 

"I'm very glad you trust me with such an instrumental part of the cooking process." Sasha rolled her eyes, but she smiled and did as he told her. "What is this bit of it?"

"Shattah. Dipping sauce that goes with this. But my grandmother would usually have some around the house for a snack, so I guess it just goes with whatever." 

"That sounds pretty fun." She nodded, keeping her eyes on the shattah. Surprisingly, it did not start to boil after thirty seconds. Sasha figured that, if she was going to have this very good chance to ask Jon out, she might as well take it. "So. I was thinking of going to that old bookshop down the street this weekend."

Jon nodded, almost absentmindedly, and tied his hair up into a ponytail. "That'll be fun. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Nah, not really. Just looking. You wanna come with?"

"I....sure. Were you going to invite the others along?"

"Oh please. Tim would complain the whole time and I think Martin only likes poetry. You are the only other literature nerd in this godforsaken polycule." She grinned and put her arms over his shoulders and her chin on top of his head, letting herself put her weight on him. Jon stumbled and shoved her off, but he was smiling. Sasha could always tell when he was putting up a grumpy front.

"Well, it sounds fun. I think it's closed Sunday, so we'll have to do Saturday." 

"It's a date then." Before Jon could say anything about _that_ , Sasha checked up on the shattah and saw that it was now boiling. "What do I do now?"

Jon reached over and turned the burner off and uncovered the pan. Steam rose up and a spicy, flavorful scent came with it. "There, now we'll let it cool off." 

Sasha nodded and went back to watching Jon fuss about. "D'you think it's good?"

"What, the shattah?" Jon glanced at the pan and then up at her. "Yes, I'm sure. Did you want to try it?" 

Sasha's eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes please. Sneak peek!" 

Jon chuckled and fished a spoon out of their silverware drawer. He scooped a little bit of the sauce up and held the spoon up. "Here, open up. Here comes the aeroplane." 

"What am I, a toddler now?" Sasha laughs and rolls her eyes. But Jon just keeps poking the spoon at her so she opens up and takes her bite of the shattah. It's definitely hot, but very flavorful and she gives a thumbs up in approval. "Very good. I give props to my pan-watching skills." 

Jon seems flustered and takes a moment to respond. "Right, yes. That's good." He tears his gaze away from her and goes back to his cooking. "Well. Everything should be about done, so." 

"I'll text the lads and see if they're nearly home." Sasha heads out of the kitchen (probably to Jon's immense relief) and finds her phone charging on their bed. She shoots a quick text to the group chat. Almost immediately, Tim responds that he's about a minute away and Martin replies a bit later, saying he's also close to home. She puts her phone down and her mind unconsciously wanders to Jon's flushed expression after he'd fed her the shattah. He was very cute, sometimes, though he would definitely deny it if she told him. Sasha giggled quietly thinking about it. Maybe Tim was right about Jon liking her. 

______

Sasha was very much confused about this whole bookshop outing. It had been a nice walk in the cool autumn air, both of them in scarves Martin had knitted. And them being in the bookshop was also obviously really nice. Jon was somewhere looking at books on botany and she was in the comics section. The place was small enough to be cozy and large enough that they could spend a decent amount of time in there. Occasionally, they'd meet up between the shelves and discuss whatever they'd found and joke about something before going back to their separate searches. It was really nice, actually.

But what she was confused about was intention. Neither of them had specified or asked if this was to be a romantic date or two friends hanging out. Sasha had wanted it to be a date but she hadn't said as much to Jon and he hadn't asked. She has suspicions Jon might want it to be a date too, but it's not like she reads minds. Every time she bumps into Jon, she tells herself she's going to ask, but she doesn't. Whenever she tries, butterflies swarm up her throat and clog up the words and nothing gets out. It's frustrating, and no amount of telling herself she should be too old for all this does anything to fix the situation. 

Fortunately, she doesn't need to figure it out. She and Jon make their way back to each other in the sci-fi section. Jon has a couple botany books and one that looks to be on the fall of the Soviet Union, which is an interesting combination. Still, Sasha is sure she and the boys will love to hear Jon infodump about the whole thing in a few days time (not in a sarcastic way, never, they all do it and it's always a treat to see one of them get so excited). 

"Sasha," He said, right off the bat, which took her a bit off guard. "What...what are we doing right now?"

"Uh...book shopping?" 

"Yes, yes, that, but...but you know." He clutches his books to his chest and glanced off to the side. "I mean, look, I think it's...it's fairly clear we're into each other. I mean, unless you...you don't, and that's fine, obviously, I just assumed which I probably shouldn't have, but-"

Sasha held up her hands to cut him off. Otherwise, he'd keep going all day. She knew how he could get when he was nervous. "It's cool. I'm into you, if that's what you were asking." She couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face. 

"Oh! Oh, yes, well. I like you too." Jon is smiling too, a bright one that's pretty rare to see. Sasha feels lucky to have caused it. "So. Is this like a date? Or...or not, that's fine."

"No, I definitely meant it as a date when I asked you." She laughs and shifts her grip on her small stack of comics. "Should've clarified that, I'm sorry." 

"No, it's fine. It all worked out, didn't it?" He was quiet for a moment before letting out a groan. "Lord, Tim is going to make us have a whole _conversation_ about this, isn't he?"

"Probably will! He's in love with communication." 

"I feel a bit jealous." Jon said dryly, rolling his eyes. "Well, I guess we might as well get it over with. I've got everything I want, if you're set." 

Sasha was set, since he never really went into bookshops actively looking for anything. They bought their books and walked home in the crisp air, hand in hand, a comfortable silence surrounding them. 

______

About a week later, Jon brushed his wrist against Sasha's cheek trying to pick some fuzz out of her hair. It left a soulmark of course; mint green on Sasha and a pale yellow for Jon. They didn't need the confirmation of something they already knew, but it was nice nonetheless. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my hc for sasha is she's a straight trans woman and I think it's super sexy of her
> 
> this chapter was always gonna be silly and soft and sweet like i cant think of any reason jonsasha wouldnt just fall nicely in love w/each other. fuck. can u tell im Yearning
> 
> i hc jon as saudi arabian and also a menace in the kitchen
> 
> u might be wondering, orion, wouldnt 4 ppl in 1 flat be really cramped? and the answer is dont worry its ok. none of us r here for realistic apartment configurations
> 
> i dont actually know what bookshop theyre going to. i made it up. the point is theyre on a date its ok <3

**Author's Note:**

> my color categorization goes like this  
> pastels: romantic soulmate  
> regular/darker shades: platonic soulmate  
> v dark shades: familial soulmate


End file.
